Project Accessory: Premiere

My apologies for the lateness of this recap, due to being swamped by the ProjRun finale. From now on, the recaps will be up at 12noon on Friday, where they belong. There are only 12 contestants! After 16 and 17 of them on ProjRun, this almost feels like a manageable number.

After the usual video intros where we are introduced rapid fire to our contestants, they are given a blank white tee-shirt and dark blue jeans, loaded in a bus and driven to New Jersey to fight it out for supplies to make their first challenge: a necklace a belt and an accessory of their choice.

The “storage bins” are (as the milliner says) full of junk. What, did they expect, rubies? The next few minutes are full of designers attempting to destroy furniture to get to embellishments, grabbing screws and bolts off the floor and general pandemonium. After that everyone is thrown back on the bus and shipped to the work room.

In the workroom, there are leather machines as well as regular sewing machines. Instead of piperlime accessory wall, it’s a swarovski crystal embellishment wall. There’s also an ebay accessory wall as well, which makes no sense, since aren’t they supposed to be making accessories? Weird. Hair is sponsored by John Frieda. Make-up is not given a named sponsor.

…..oh no. I smell showmance between James and Shea. Showmance ruined watching Platinum Hit. I want to go on record as anti-showmance. Don’t you dare Lifetime. Don’t you dare. And we have a crier! Nicolina, “rock and roll jewelry designer” is crying and we’re only one commercial break in. Lovely. And I think I need a few more sessions with Eva, until then I withhold judgement as her in the Tim Gunn role.

I thought these guys were overlooked, and I wanted to make sure and highlight them. I especially liked Christina’s pieces on the left. They were simple, nice braid work with a few crystal details on the necklace and belt. They seemed exactly like the sort of thing one would casually wear with a tee-shirt and jeans. On the right hand side, we have Kelly and her fascinating leather belt with structural swoops. I’m not so into the lime green purse or this big winged pendant necklace, but that belt was worth a second look.

These pieces were both nothing to write home about, mushy-middle in the classic sense. Shea’s metalwork is certainly interesting, and I’m glad we’ll get to see more of her. I think David’s pieces were all a bit big, especially the necklace, but the belt is quite nice.

Adrian and Rich both have the same problem here, and that’s proportion. The necklace the belt and the purse are all way too big when it comes to Adrian’s look on the left. If he’s made the purse and belt smaller and left the big necklace, that might have been one thing, but all three being gigantic was too much. As for Rich, the earring and necklace are small and dainty, but the belt is so big it’s drowning everything else out.

The top:

Brian “post apocalyptic look.” I’m sorry, but after the apocalypse, we will all be wearing brooms for hair pieces? Will floors no longer need to get swept? I did not get this piece being in the top ten, and I was not alone. Kenneth Cole thought this was not a good look. The belt looks like someone took a packing blanket and turned it into a belt. The necklace does not look like a necklace, it looks like she’s wearing her father’s belt around her neck. Did anyone notice there’s a broom sticking out of her head? Because in case you didn’t notice there’s a broom sticking out of her head!

I thought this should have been the winner. Diego took trash he found in a warehouse and made it look expensive. If that’s not the name of the game, I don’t know what is. The man is apparently a handbag designer, and that really shows in that clutch she’s carrying. It also shows in the gold spray painted leather necklace The belt is simple, and gives room to the necklace to be the star. It’s a lovely combination.

That being said, I wasn’t going to argue with Nina’s win. The necklace was the first piece to come down the runway that was big and bold and yet looked like something anyone would wear walking down a street. The fact that it’s made from match heads and rattraps is just gravy. The necklace, belt and ring are all of a set, with the belt and ring taking the smaller proportion so as to give room for the necklace’s size. Let’s see what else Nina’s going to show us down the line.

The Bottom:

I already hate James because he started spouting showmance bullshit. But then he sent this down the runway and I started to silently root for him to go home. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. The judging was edited, but I’m pretty sure I heard Molly fighting to get rid of him. She certainly didn’t seem pleased to be sending him to saftey first. The necklace is way to big. The earrings are two long and melt into it. The belt is a joke. When he started babbling on about white being for purity, I wanted someone to laugh in his face. Sadly we are stuck with him for at least another few weeks. Shows don’t edit showmance bullshit in if they mean to lose the contestant early on.

Nicolina had designer’s block. These pieces were made in three hours, and they looked it. I think she was given a pass because the judges are hoping for more from her and soon.

Ok, so score one point for Eva. She gave good advice, and the contestant who blew her off got eliminated. Cotrice’s pieces were ridiculously large. The necklace was a standout piece, but then layers over a silver spray painted tee-shirt and it was instantly lost. Then layer over a corset belt that comes out of left field, and I have no idea what you’re trying for, except to say “I’m in dire need of editing skills!” Sadly, Cotrice will not be getting those here, as she was eliminated this evening.

I’m going to take a risk and say that I will keep blogging this show in the Friday noon slot. With only 12 11 designers to go, it won’t take that many weeks, and hopefully it won’t completely devolve…